Back Here: Where Far Out Thou?
by Oceanserpent
Summary: Duo is wondering where Heildi is after the Libra battle...He's depressed.


Back Here: Where Far Out Thou?  
  
***  
  
Hands shoved deep into black pockets, baseball cap on, and the collar of the black jacket turned up around his neck and chin, a boy walked with head downcast in despair. He scuffed his feet and shook his head, a dark contrast to the smiling people around him. The war had just ended and the people were rejoicing, helping the wounded; rebuilding; searching for kin. Enjoying Christmas. But this boy had no kin for all had died or disappeared, and no one to share Christmas with.   
  
A wind picked up as if to dispel his deep scowl, but did nothing except whip his long braid across his neck and his face as well as that of those within reach. He grabbed onto the floating extension absently, without looking up. He continued on his lost path, towards the salvage dump.  
  
As he neared the establishment, images began to resurface. A dark haired girl with the sweetest smile setting the groceries on the table or staring at him in shock as she was hit with a pea before a food fight broke out in their little kitchen. But there was also her laughter as a loud "thunk" was heard followed by a very colorful word echoed from somewhere inside Deathscythe as he was being repaired, with her in the cockpit working the computer systems.  
  
The sad boy sighed and sat at his desk in the main office of the salvage yard. When he closed his eyes, the most terrible and most recent memory surfaced. The Mercurious and the Veate, taking the Taurus piece by piece, with her inside. After he saved her, her lying on a hospital bed, unconscious, before he left for the battle with Libra. He hadn't seen or heard of or from Heildi Schbeiker in two weeks.   
  
Happy-go-lucky Duo Maxwell laid his head on his desk and cried.  
  
***  
  
Duo fell into a routine of paperwork and hands on maintenance for the customers that came to him. He always looked at the computer desk where Heildi usually sat. He would even yell out her name to ask for something, but of course, there was never a reply.  
  
One night, after working for eighteen hours in hopes of forgetting his sorrows, Duo received a call over the vid com. "Yeah?" he answered, half-heartedly.  
  
"Duo! How ya doin'?" The person asked enthusiastically.  
  
"Howard? Oh, well I'm okay, I guess..."  
  
"Duo..."  
  
"All right, so I'm not okay! I miss Heildi! I don't know what happened to her after you rammed Peacemillion into Libra!" he yelled at the com.  
  
Howard blinked in surprise. "Why didn't you just say so! I can find her!"  
  
"Really?" Duo's eyes lit up. "You can find Heildi for me?"  
  
"Yep. I'll call you back..." and then he terminated the connection.  
  
"Heildi! He's going to find Heildi for me!" Duo yelled, excited and happily dancing around the room in his boxers, braid flying in every direction.  
  
***  
  
"Duo?" Came the voice over the com.  
  
"Yeah?" he answered eagerly. It was Howard again.  
  
"I found Heildi, but she's still unconscious."  
  
Duo's face fell. "She is?"   
  
"Yeah, sorry dude." Howard sighed. "This is where she's at. I'm transmitting the location to you now." He did so and signed off again.  
  
Duo opened the file that Howard had sent. "Looks like I need a flight to L1."  
  
***  
  
Duo scrounged up the money and hopped a flight to Colony L1. When he arrived, he ran off the shuttle and headed straight for the address that Howard had given him. His face fell even more when he noticed it was a clean, sterile white hospital.  
  
"Oh no..." he mumbled before heading in.  
  
***  
  
At the administrations desk, Duo approached a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties to early thirties with black hair. She was sitting with one leg over the other, sideways, filing the edge of her finger nails and blowing pink bubbles with her bubble gum. Her nurses uniform was unbuttoned to low, showing too much clevage.  
  
"Excuse me, miss, but could you please tell me what room Heildi Schbeiker is in?" He asked politely, his eyes begging for an answer.  
  
"Nope."  
  
"What?!" he yelled. The woman jumped.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but she is under guard. She was involved in the war and is being watched over for fear of someone trying to kill her."  
  
"I was involved in the war! I saved her from being blown to bits! I was one of the ones who fought against Libra!" he practically screamed at her. He was recieving curios glances from around the waiting room. A child looked at him in awe as he played with a makeshift toy of Deathscythe. "Now, I want to see MY Heildi!"  
  
"Just a moment please, sir, I'll see if it would be all right." The lady called up one of the guards and he came down to inspect Duo.  
  
"No. No one comes in." he said, then turned on his heel and started walking away.  
  
"Come back here, asshole." Duo said, his voice filled with anger and low as a wolf's growl. The man turned around.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want to see my girlfriend. You want to know what merits I have towards my admittance to see the woman I saved?"  
  
"Try me."  
  
"I'm Gundam pilot 02, of Deathscythe Hell."  
  
"Holy shit! You're Shinigami!"  
  
"You got that right, bastard, now let me see my girl!"  
  
***  
  
Duo was immediately led to Heildi's room, much to the dismay of the doctors when he walked in. The gray haired physician and his red headed nurse glared disgustedly at Duo.  
  
"How did you manage to get in here?" the doctor asked.  
  
"I'm her boyfriend, and I'm Shinigami." he answered simply. Duo walked past the doctors to the unconscious young woman lying on the bed. His eyes filled with tears at the sight of her lying on the bed. "Come on, Heildi, wake up." he murmured. "Please, babe, don't leave me like everyone else has." He held her hand until he fell asleep, because, tears are very tiring after all.  
  
***  
  
"Duo?" A sleepy female voice mumbled.  
  
Duo's head shot straight up. "Heildi?"  
  
"Oh, Duo...I missed you..." she mumbled as she weakly wrapped her arms around his neck. She tucked her face into his neck and shoulder, reveling in the familiar smell of cinnamon and pepper.  
  
"I was so scared." he croaked through his tears. "Everything I did, everywhere I went, something reminded me of you. Then Howard called and said that he found you but you were still unconscious. I was afraid you would die on me, just like everybody else has." He finished, smiling down at her happily.  
  
"Of course not. Why would I leave the man I love?" she said, smiling through her own tears.  
  
"I love you too, babe." he mumbled in return, kissing her tenderly. They smiled at each other for awhile, reveling in the familiarity of each others arms.  
  
*** 


End file.
